All's Fair In Love?
by niyoniyo
Summary: France/Germany fic. AU setting  think of the movie Sherlock Holmes  2009  kind of setting  Francis is the son of a wealthy lawyer and Ludwig is a low-class man. Will their social differencea allow them to be together?
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING: THERE IS PLENTY OF SLASH, YAOI, SHOUNEN AI, WHATEVER YOU REFER TO IT AS IN THIS!**

**Also, human names will be used!**

**Story Title**: All's Fair In Love?

**Pairings:** France/Germany (this will be updated as the story goes along)

**Setting**: okay, it's like I said, think back to the movie Sherlock Holmes (2009) because that is EXACTLY the kind of setting that is taking place in. So this is definitely an AU fic.

**In Depth Synopsis (since the summary wasn't long enough)**: Francis' father is a wealthy lawyer and is very high class and lives in luxury. However, his father has a best friend who tailors their suits and have known each other for a long time and visted each other. Erhard has two sons, Gilbert and Ludwig. They grow up together and their friendship grows and become very close friends.

and I'll leave it at that because I do not want to ruin anything! You guys should read if you want to find out! |D

**AN:** hi there~! this is actually not my first fanfic but...my third? well my first that's being published c: Anyways, I'd like to make a note that there will be two OCs (that credit go to my friend) but they ARE relevant to Hetalia! they are ancient nations. Pierre (who is Francis' father) is actually ancient nation Gaul. Erhard is not an OC but he is actually Germania c: and there is another OC but she will not be introduced until much later in the story so I will wait until then :).

I would really like some reviews guys! I'm in school at the moment so this will not have a certafin update schedule nor will it be frequent I am very sorry! this chapter is pretty short but I don't think the rest of them will be as short. this is going to be a LONG fic because I plan to have many chapters in this. But please review this! I would really like to know what you guys think :D

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Francis walked into the small, quaint and cozy tailor shop with a much taller, older, and even handsomer man right behind him. The older man behind him boomed in a cheerful, uplifting, and suave voice, much like Francis':

"Erhard my good man! Are you here? Come out and greet your best friend!" after this was said, a man, around Francis' look a like's age, walked out of the doorway that led into the front desk of the parlor and walked toward the two.

"Pierre, the smell of your cologne is enough to notify me of your presence. No need to shout it out either…" the blonde and long haired man rubbed a hand behind his head in exasperation. Pierre walked over and slung an arm around Erhard's shoulders and smiled.

"Hm? Does my cologne bother you, mon cher?" Pierre smiled wider, this time more teasingly, and rubbed his cheek against Erhard's. As he did this, Erhard scrunched up his nose at the concentrated amount of cologne in the air.

"Yes." Said Erhard bluntly. Pierre pouted and then chuckled. "Perhaps you are more accustomed to the sweet perfume of the ladies, non? The ladies however, will grovel at my feet at the first whiff of this" Pierre backed up and pulled on his professionally made tuxedo, as if indicating to the cologne that showered him.

"I didn't say I didn't like it, I just don't like how much you're wearing. Ever heard of don't be smelled before you're seen?" Erhard waved a hand in front of his face as if trying to direct the aroma away from him. "Hm…it looks like your son has quite a bit on him as well…" he turned to face the much younger looking boy that was standing in front of him. He raised an eyebrow as if silently asking whether or not he was wearing the same "babe-magnet" scent his father wore. Francis produced the same grin his father had on. Erhard nodded slightly and turned back to face Pierre.

"You've got the boy on it as well?" questioned Erhard suggestively. Pierre mocked a shock look at this. "Erhard! Don't make it sound like I'm giving him Opium or something of the sort!"

"Mein Gott Pierre! The boy is only twelve! Are you expecting him to be picking up girls at this age?" Erhard exclaimed. Pierre chuckled and walked over to Francis and kneeled down so that he was at his level and hugged him tight. "Well…he _did_ get my gorgeous looks, non? I'm sure girls will adore his cuteness soon" a wide grin spread around Pierre's face as he said this. Erhard pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Besides, who said he was planning on picking up just girls specifically?" Pierre winked at Erhard, who made a snappy look at Pierre. Pierre merely chuckled and got up and walked over to Erhard again. He patted his shoulder and had on a goofy grin on his mouth.

"Come now, are you going to be a good host and let us in or not?" chuckled Pierre as he gave a wink after he said this. Erhard rolled his eyes and shrugged off Pierre's arm and led them into the small den through the door from which Erhard came through.

"Just make yourselves at-" Pierre cut off Erhard mid-sentence.

"Oh, don't be a stiff Erhard! How many times have we come over before? We're childhood friends! We make ourselves comfortable by default!" Pierre laughed and sat down in an arm chair by the fireplace in the den. Francis made his way over to the long couch and sat down all the way back and relaxed, so that his feet were dangling a few inches off the floor.

"Excuse me, weren't _you_ the one asking if I was going to be a good host or not?" Erhard's creased his brow and Pierre responded with an innocent shrug of the shoulders whilst a wide grin overtook his face. Erhard rolled his eyes and excused himself for a moment to get drinks for both of them. They were alone for only a few seconds until a loud, rude, and raspy sounding voice came in from the hallway they had just come from.

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so that's it for now! I hope you guys enjoyed! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.: I-I've been getting such wonderful reviews (even if they are only a few) I hope I'm not taking too long to update! here's chapter 2!**

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"Ehhhhhhh? Hey old man! Why didn't you tell us the snobs were over?" Pierre and Francis looked towards the doorway and there stood an albino, gray haired, red eyed, wide grinning boy. An identical grin spread across Francis' face when he saw who it was. It was his best friend Gilbert Beilschmidt. Francis flashed his teeth in a suave grin as Gilbert walked in.

"I don't remember inviting any rich bastards over, so why're ya here?" Gilbert's grin became a sneer as he looked toward Francis, who burst out into laughter.

"Just came to pity the poor people, all in a day's work." Francis' suave grin transformed into an arrogant sneer as he stared at the albino standing next to him by the couch. Gilbert was about to tackle the sneering boy when another voice came from the doorway again.

"_Westen_." a stern voice traveled through the doorway again. Francis and Gilbert froze in their positions, Gilbert ready to pounce Francis and Francis shielding himself with his arms. Their evil sneers becoming innocent faces as they saw who it was.

"Heyyyy, Bruder, what's up? Just, you know, giving the guests a warm welcome!" Gilbert slung an arm around Francis' shoulders and hugged him close as if they were not just about to attack each other. Francis flashed his suave grin once again to the boy standing in the doorway, the faintest blush creeping over his cheeks.

"Ludwig! _Mon Cher_, so glad you could finally join us!" Francis wrapped another arm around Gilbert's shoulders and acted innocently as well. Ludwig merely rolled his eyes as the blush that - hopefully - no one noticed disappeared from his face as fast as it had appeared. Pierre watched as Ludwig walked over to the smirking duo and chuckled wholeheartedly.

"Ahhh, I remember when I used to mess around with Erhard like that..." Pierre smiled and leaned back in the arm chair he was seated in and folded his hands into his lap and daydreamed of old childhood memories. However, his trip down memory lane was quickly interrupted when Erhard walked in with the drinks. He set the tray down in the table next to the couch Francis was sitting in and turned to face Pierre who was now grinning at him.

"Used to? I firmly believe you still do, Pierre." he raised another eyebrow at him, to which Pierre merely chuckled in amusement and stood up to grab his glass of wine waiting for him on the tray. He lifted his glass to motion a toast as he spoke:

"A toast! to a friendship that will never end," Pierre walked over to stand next to Erhard, who had a mug of beer in his hand, and gracefully put his arm over his shoulders as Erhard smiled and raised his glass in joining the toast. Pierre then motioned his hand toward the group of the three boys smiling at the men.

"and to a friendship that will surely grow long and strong." Pierre smiled and drank his wine graciously and slowly, and Erhard wholeheartedly drank his beer in one big swig. A gentle smile on his face when he downed the drink. Gilbert then got in between Francis and Ludwig and pulled them close to him with each of his arms over his shoulders and smiled widely.

"Even the cruelest of fate won't separate the three awesome us! Kesesesese~" the two boys on either side of the albino rolled their eyes simultaneously and caught the action and laughed. Francis soaked in the moment, and realized just how happy he was with his friends and father all just being..._happy_.

_Yes, nothing can tear us apart...nothing..._

At only twelve, Francis had no idea what awful twists life can turn.

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***CUE DRAMATIC SOAP OPERA MUSIC***

**OH GOD WHY IS THE ENDING SO DUMB AND DRAMATIC AND AND AND UGH WELL. I wanted to wrap up the chapter so...**

**Ahahaha WELL...THAT'S IT FOR NOW GUYS! AAAAAAAAAHHH WHY ARE THESE CHAPTERS SO SHORT DAMMIT.**

**I swear I don't mean for them to be so short they will get longer in the future I'm sorry!**

**err...w-well I am a dramatic person and well that's just how I am ;;**

**so~ without further ado please review you guys! please and thank you!**

**P.S. LIKE FATHER LIKE SON! PIERRE WAS/IS A TROLL WITH ERHARD 8-) AT LEAST WE ALL KNOW WHERE FRANCIS GETS HIS SUAVE-NESS FROM :**

**uhhhhhhh...i-if you dunno the basic French and German speak uhhh well here:**

_**Mon Cher: my dear**_

_**Westen: West**_

_**Bruder: Brother**_

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_**please~? c:  
**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.: Hey everyone~! I'm back with another chapter~! erm I have bad news...I might be gone for a long time _maybe_ until Christmas I dunno it might be longer than that...a-anyways I hope you guys enjoy this fic! I do hope it's not moving too fast for you guys!**

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_9 years later..._

Francis walked through the streets of the small neighborhood on his way to his favourite place in all of London: the Beilschmidt Tailor.

This time around Francis was wearing only a white, long-sleeved blouse with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black slacks. He was on his way to pick up suits for the party his father was hosting tonight over at their small mansion uptown. The party was stritcly business though. Pierre's tactic for large contract agreements was to "get the victim tipsy, whip out the pen and paper, and sign. Then we proceed to celebrate and knock 'em out cold with wine." Francis remembered his father telling him this earlier this morning when he asked the reason behind the party. When Pierre had finished explaining, they both burst into tear jerking laughter as Francis jokingly called his father a "sly and manipulative bastard" to which Pierre only laughed harder at.

"Ahhhh boy, you see, that's just how things work when you work as a lawyer..." sadness crept in his voice as he said this. Pierre was a more honest and humble man than he let off, but after so many years of working and having to be dishonest just to win cases, it's stuck to him. (It's not as if he were never a good liar before though. Erhard can be a good witness to that.)

Soon Francis' mind went off track as he begun to sing under his breath a familiar French tune he remembered his father singing very often when he was younger:

_"Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, Dormez vous? Dormez vous?" _He went from singing to a light hum as he daydreamed in the calm and unusually humid London afternoon. It had rained heavily the night before so perhaps that had something to do with it. It wasn't as if it were smoltering hot either, but it was still considerably warmer. After passing a few fruit and vegetable stands and waving to the merchants, he finally made it to his destination, the tailor.

He hesitated before a small smile formed on his face as he looked up to the ornate woodwork carved into the door advertising the tailor. He pushed down on the handle and pushed the door open.

"_Bonjour~_?" Francis called out, the front desk was empty and hoped that someone would come. Surely not everyone had left the house? And they probably wouldn't have left it unlocked either-

Francis' thoughts were cut off as a rushed German voice traveled from the door leading into the den. A few seconds later, Ludwig emerged from the doorway, looking a bit frazzled, walked up to the front desk to attend to Francis while trying to catch his breath.

"S-Sorry Francis...I-I fell asleep reading while I was supposed to be watching the store since-"

"_Mon cher, mon cher_! Calm down...it's perfectly alright! I am just surprised," Francis leaned over the desk counter so that he was just half a foot away from Ludwig's large figure. He looked up at him and gave him a crooked and handsome smile.

"that the attentive and "all work and no play" Ludwig that I know and love decided to take a nap and slack off while on the job? tsk tsk!" Francis playfully scolded Ludwig while still maintaining the flirtatious smile on his face. Ludwig only reacted with a grunt, a blush, and looked away, running a hand through his hair, causing it to mess up from its usual uniformed state. Francis noticed this and his smile only grew more lustful.

"Your hair looks very nice- no, _handsome _like that Ludwig..." Francis let out a quiet chuckle as Ludwig whipped his head around at the compliment with his jaw slightly open with a now more obvious blush on his face. He snapped his mouth shut and looked away just as fast as he looked towards Francis. Ludwig was making it hard for him to not tease him, he was just too easy sometimes. Ludwig noticed he was only encouraging Francis' teasing and decided to kill the mood (whatever the mood was anyways), and move to the tailor room to get the two suits for Francis.

"I hope the suits are to your liking and proper fitting." Ludwig set the suits on the table and folded them neatly. Francis grabbed them and placed over his arms like a waiter would to a small cloth. He looked up to thank him but saw him retreating back to the den, most likely to finish his nap. Francis straightened himself up and opened his mouth to speak:

"Ludwig, _attendez_-" Francis couldn't finish his statement before the door to the tailor burst open. Francis and Ludwig jumped at the sound of the door slamming against the wall and both turned to see who had done it. They weren't surprised it was Gilbert who had been the one to bust open the door. He was one to make his presence known.

"'the hell? What's your problem Francis! Coming around to visit without _my_ awesome presence here?" Gilbert walked in with some type of swag and leaned against the counter next to Francis. Erhard followed behind him, carrying piles of cloth all over him. His face was nearly covered and if it weren't for his long hair he would be unrecognizable. Ludwig saw the amount of things he was carrying and ran over to take a good amount off of him. When he turned around to scold Gilbert:

"Oi, Gilbert! What the hell is_ your _problem? Is it so hard to help out_ Vati_ with the materials?" He gve him a nasty glare as he walked into the sewing room and Gilbert only waved off the scolding he just received.

"Ahhhh, West needs to calm down, he's always scolding me, which is totally _not_ awesome." He shrugged and turned to his shoulder to touch, or rather pet, something. Francis raised his eyebrows in confusion and leaned back to see what it was. And sure enough, he _was _petting something. It was a tiny ball of yellow fluff that had two black and beady eyes. It was chirpping happily as Gilbert stroked it with his finger. Gilbert looked over to Francis, who was staring at the scene, and laughed.

"Whaddaya think?" Gilbert took him off his shoulder and placed him on his hand and held him up so Francis could get a better view.

"I named him Gilbird, pretty clever huh?" He let out an arrogant laugh and Francis rolled his eyes and muttered:

"as a fox..." Gilbert still heard him and kesese'd and placed him back on his shoulder. Francis decided to stroke the cute bird and the so-called Gilbird let out a happy chirp as he was being pet lovingly again. Francis smiled and said:

"What an adorable fellow...where did you fnd him?"

"Actually, the guy just came out of no where and landed on my head! I didn't notice until _Vati_ mentioned it to me. I looked up and the guy flew off my head and onto my shoulder. He seemed to take a liking to me which was awesome so I kept the guy!" He nuzzled the bird agaisnt his cheek and the bird cheeped in response. Then Gilbert looked up to Francis again and asked if he thought the suits came out good. Francis held up the one of the suits in front of him while the other was still over his arm and examined it. He hummed and asked:

"Did you make them?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"So I know whether or not to return them and ask for a better quality maker." Francis had his suave and arrogant grin on his face as he said this. And Gilbert jolted at the insult (he took these kinds of things to heart) and glared at him.

"Why you-" his insult was cut off by Erhard clearing his throat to prevent any profanities falling out of the dirty mouth of his son. Gilbert's face went from angry to scared. If it was anyone Gilbert _openly_ admitted him being scared of, it was his father. He looked to the register where he was standing behind and gave him an awkward and sheepish grin. Then Erhard turned to Francis and kept his hard stare.

"I would prefer if you didn't insult my employees. They are my _sons_ and Gilbert just happens to be the best out of all of us." Francis was taken aback at the sudden scolding he got. He nodded and apologized for the nasty joke he made. Erhard nodded back and forgave him. Francis payed for the suits and was about to leave before Gilbert called out to him:

"Hey how come the rich bastard didn't invite us to the party?"

"Actually, you all were. But Erhard mentioned you all have a dinner party tonight." Gilbert had on a surprised face and turned to his father with a questioning expression.

"What? Dinner party? With _who_?"

"Calm down, I invited the new Italian family next door, the Vargas family, as a warm welcome. I mentioned this to Ludwig but you were out getting some cloth at the time. I just forgot." Erhard shrugged as if it were a harmless mistake but Gilbert got huffy about being forgotten and turned away. Francis chuckled and was about to turn back to the door until this time, Ludwig called to him.

"Wait Francis, you were going to tell me something before we were _rudely_ interruped...?" Ludwig shot Gilbert a dirty look, who pretended not to notice. Francis had on a confused look for a second then remembered what he was going to say.

"Actually, at the time I forgot you had a previous engagement so I was going to ask if you would have liked to have been my escort for tonight...but I see it cannot be done now..." Gilbert snorted at this and everyone looked to him.

"_Escort? _more like _court_. That's some bullshit Francis, just spit it out and say you want him to be your da-hey hey hey OW!" there was a loud thud as the back of Gilbert's head became one with the register counter as Erhard pulled on his ear hard enough to knock him back. Erhard gave him a nasty look as Gilbert crouched down in pain with his hands on his head while mumbling something about "_Vati_ is _not _awesome...I'm gonna be injured for days" Erhard looked up to Francis and apologized for his "idiotic excuse for a son" but Francis was too absorbed in the incredibly red face of Ludwig, who was looking down with a hand on his face, attempting to hide it. Francis smacked a hand over his mouth and coughed to stop the laughter that was yearning to break out.

"No no...it's...alright..." Francis paused.

"Actually...I _wanted _to say court, but was afraid of the reaction I would get from you all." When Francis finished saying this, everyone shot him a shocked look and Francis blew a kiss at Ludwig, raised his hand to his forhead, waved goodbye, and slipped out the door with a suave grin before anyone could say anything.

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**A.N. WOW. I honestly didn't expect this chapter to be so long! But I wanted to get a lot done before my hiatus. I was contemplating splitting this in two but this went altogether so I didn't want to split it.**

**Next chapter is one of the big chapters in the story! That's where everything gets moving *_***

**This chapter is too long for me to go through to look for the words that need translation. That's what tabs are for. 8-)**

**PLEASE REVIEW YOU GUYS I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW HOW THIS IS COMING OUT PRETTY PLEASE~? '**

**and for the people who have reviewed so far, thank you! :**

**P.S. YES. I _DID _USE THE WORD SWAG. DEAL WITH IT.**

**I just thought it would be a good way to describe Gilbert I guess...d-derp 8-))))))  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N.: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry it took me this long to update...I am going to try to keep a normal update pace. Possibly every two weeks. I am done with exams so my schedule is very flexible now :3**

**Um...I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations you guys...I'm sorry if it's a little OOC please forgive me I am still trying to sharpen my ~skills~ but um...constructive criticism would be nice even though I am sensitive but I don't care please tell me what is wrong and I will fix it. Also, I asked one of my friends that lives in France with help with the French so if there's still something wrong then...I-I dunno anyways I'll stop rambling an please enjoy!**

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Francis found himself walking towards the tailor shop again in the humid night. He really wished the German brothers could have come to the party. He would have had much more fun teasing Ludwig whilst he got drunk and eventually bringing in Gilbert and coaxing him to drink beer until he was just as drunk as them. He chuckled to himself as he meandered through the dark cobblestoned streets heading toward the familiar shop. When he got there he was about to knock on the door when he heard a crash a few houses down and then some loud yelling. It sounded Italian. It was probably the same ones that Erhard had invited over for the dinner party. He heard a booming laugh and some more yelling and something about pasta and then the ruckus died. Francis seemed a bit worried but remembered his reason for being there and turned his attention back to the door. He was about to knock but he stopped himself.

What if Erhard was the one to open the door and not Ludwig?

Gilbert was definitely out of the question because that boy slept through gunfire. And how would he explain himself to Erhard that he was here at 10 at night wanting to talk to Ludwig? He would attempt his suave charm on Erhard but he saw right through that. Francis took a peek through the window. Not a single light on. They were definitely all asleep. He took a few steps back and scratched the back of his head. Maybe he got too caught up with himself and should have just stayed at the party. He sighed and was about to turn back when he suddenly thought of something.

He should sneak through his bedroom window.

It was an outrageous idea for someone of his class but it wasn't the first time he's tried something of the sort. One time Gilbert was left to take care of the shop when they were younger and he ended up locking himself out when he went out to play with Francis. So they had to break in from his bedroom. It had worked. So Francis decided to sneak behind their house and grab the ladder that reached all the way to the roof. The tailor shop was two stories high, the bottom was the shop and the top was their personal home. Francis positioned the ladder next to Gilbert's bedroom window, since Ludwig and Gilbert shared a room. He shrugged off his jacket and left it atop a barrel that was laying around, rolled his sleeves up, and climbed the ladder. When he reached the window he saw that the window was still able to be opened from the outside. He figured Gilbert never told his father about their little incident. Francis flashed his sly grin once more and quietly pulled the window up.

Too bad Ludwig wasn't as deep of a sleeper as Gilbert.

Francis wasn't paying attention when he was pulling up the window and when he looked up he saw the glint of a revolver being pointed at him in the dark. Francis' eyes were wide and he shot a quick look to Ludwig's bed. He wasn't in it. Francis looked back to the revolver and shot his hands up in front of him.

"Ludwig! Mon Cher! Stop! It's me, Francis! Not a robber!" Francis' voice came out rushed as he shook his head and waved his hands motioning him to stop. The revolver dropped and Ludwig's figure came into view as he took large steps towards the window.

"Francis? Mein Gott I was about to shoot you what the hell are you doing here? Are you drunk again?" Ludwig's voice was angry and stern. Francis only leaned in and winked at Ludwig.

"of course I'm not! If I were, I would be in some bedroom with some beautiful woman!" the next part came in a suave whisper: "or a man~" Ludwig's face lit up with a bright red and coughed sharply into his fist.

"yes...that is very...like you." He said awkwardly. Francis tried to hide his smile but it only came out as a crooked smirk. Ludwig noticed this and frowned.

"why are you even here. You know if Zwingli saw you he definitely would not have hesitated like me and shot you on the spot." Ludwig's brow furrowed as he said this and Francis got a chill down his back at the the thought of the angry Swiss taking a shot at him. He shook off the thought and answered Ludwig's question.

"I wanted to see you, mon amour." Francis smiled sincerely and Ludwig's face heated up once more.

"wh-why? Wouldn't you rather be up some girl's dress instead?" Francis looked down and shook his head.

"maybe, if there were any my age. It was mostly men and women of my papa's age and they were drunk already." Francis shrugged. "It was no fun at all. Honestly, I wish you and mon Cher Gilbert were there, it would have made that party much more interesting. I'm sure Gilbert would have engaged in a drinking contest with that so called "gentlemanly" British man. He smirked at the thought of his rival of 3 years being challenged to a drinking contest.

Things would surely end up nasty with Gilbert there. Ludwig rolled his eyes. He knew for a fact that Gilbert would end up challenging someone to some sort of contest there. Very uncouth. Ludwig finally crossed all the way to the window and leaned on the window sill and looked at Francis and raised an eyebrow.

"so how long do you plan on staying here...?" Francis took a moment then answered with:

"follow me up to the roof." he said softly and began climbing up the ladder before Ludwig had a chance to protest. He took a while deciding whether or not he should just go back to bed or follow Francis up. He decided to follow him up. He had come all this way...he just wanted to be polite and not leave him hanging. So Ludwig climbed onto the window sill and pulled himself onto the ladder. He was very built so this was no problem for him. He slowly climbed the ladder so as not to be noticed, being wary of Zwingli. When he finally reached the top he found Francis leaning back on his arms and staring up to the night sky. Ludwig just stared at him for a good two minutes. Finally he sighed and pulled himself up to the roof and as he approached Francis he spoke:

"what if I didn't follow you up?"

"but mon Cher, you did."

"but what if I hadn't?"

"you would have."

"how can you be so sure?"

"you have too kind of a heart to just ignore moi~" Francis teased as Ludwig sat down next to him, frowning.

"one of these days I am going to treat you the way I treat Osten. I don't know why I put up with you. You're just like my Bruder." Ludwig trailed off. Why did he put up with Francis? He looked over to Francis, who was giving him that grin again. Sometimes he just couldn't stand that arrogant grin. He just felt like grabbing him and-

"what, have I put you in a trance mon Cher?" Ludwig blinked and realized he had been staring. He only frowned more and looked away.

"Ahhhh Ludwig, must you frown so much? They say frowning gives you premature wrinkles~" Ludwig rolled his eyes again. He could have been asleep if it weren't for this man. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed

"why couldn't you bother Mein Bruder instead..." he said exasperated. He expected Francis to have some sort of witty or smooth remark but when he stayed silent he looked at him through the corner of his tired eyes. He saw Francis leaning forward and had his hands folded on his knees and staring at something yet at nothing. Then, he said quietly, with a reminiscing tone:

"we've known each other for quite a while...Ludwig..." a small smile formed on his lips as he said Ludwig's name with fondness. Ludwig wasn't sure what he was getting at but after looking back he realized that they have. He nodded slowly, agreeing to what Francis said. He remembered that when Francis' mom left him and his father, Francis was distraught. He had stayed the night at Erhard's and Gilbert and Ludwig comforted him and slept in the same bed. They were so young...

Ludwig was jolted out of his trance when he felt Francis lean against him. Practically snuggling. He stiffened at the sudden contact, something he wasn't used to.

"what are you-"

"you're very warm..." mumbled Francis, but you can still hear that smirk on his face again. Ludwig wasn't sure how to react. He felt very uncomfortable and awkward. But he could tell Francis felt just the same. He was about to tell Francis to get off if he didn't feel comfortable but Francis was quicker to speak:

"how do I say this."

"what?"

"I need to tell you something but...I'm not sure how to go about...this..."

Ludwig was shocked. Francis wasn't the one to be at the loss of words. He always had some sort of flirty, suave, or witty remark. He got worried.

"did something happen at the party?"

"no...nothing like that..."

"then...?"

There was silence for a while. Ludwig didn't want to be the one to break it, he wanted to give Francis time to say whatever he had to say. At last, Francis had his signature grin on his face again.

"perhaps, I'll show you."

"and how do you suppose you do that." Francis put a hand over Ludwig's eyes softly and whispered

"Ferme tes yeux" Ludwig knew very little French but the motion he did was enough to tell him what to do. So he obeyed.

Francis stared for a while at Ludwig's calm face. With his eyes closed it looked serene and peaceful. His hair was once again messy from being asleep. He slowly ran his fingers through his hair and then moved it down to his cheek, barely touching it, all the while he leaned in closer

And closer

And closed the space between them with a soft, yet ardent kiss.

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**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N:** Sorry you guys this is so so SO terribly late! I went on summer vacation for basically the whole two months with no access to internet whatsoever. Also this is my Junior year in high school so I'm buckling down on the studies! I think I might start taking my fics to livejournal soon! I'll let you all know so you can follow the fics there!

Sorry this chapter is so short! I didn't want to talk about anything else but this scene in here! There'll be more next chapter promise!

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Francis leaned back from the kiss and sighed. He kept his eyes closed, already knowing the expression he would see on Ludwig's face; but not wanted to see it himself. After about a minute and neither of them had said anything, Francis opened his eyes, thinking Ludwig passed out from the shock. Fortunately, he hadn't. It had been just as Francis suspected, he was stiff from the shock. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging slightly open. Francis chuckled awkwardly and looked away.

"Your handsome face is going to stay like that if you don't change your expression, old friend." He looked back at Ludwig from the corner of his eye, Ludwig's face had transformed into a frown. Francis decided to play innocent.

"What? Was it something I said?" he batted his eyes and pouted innocently.

"Don't play innocent with me, Francis." said Ludwig in an icy and flat tone, somewhat similar to his father's.

"Well, I was expecting you to say something but since you didn't..." Francis trailed off, hoping Ludwig would get the hint that he wanted a response to his unexpected actions.

"Well what do you _want _me to say? It's kind of hard to respond when your best friend just kissed you." Ludwig put his face in his hands, massaging his temples. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"I don't think so."

"Francis, have you any idea of what you just did? You should know better that this is frowned upon, especially in a religious city like this!" Ludwig's face was still in his hands, not looking at Francis.

"Yes, I do know."

A pause dragged on between the two of them.

"I knew you'd say that..." Ludwig said wearily, and began massaging his temples again.

"Mon Dieu Ludwig, sometimes I wonder why you're not enlisted in the military. You are so by the rules it frustrates me." Francis leaned his head back and groaned.

"And you're such a rebel it keeps me on edge." Ludwig finally looked up and made a face, as if he just smelled something bad. Francis chuckled and leaned in close to his face and whispered:

"That's why we're perfect for each other, Cher." Ludwig made a choking noise and moved back, even in the dark you could tell how red his face became. Francis only chuckled and winked at him, to which Ludwig responded by only turning a deeper shade of red.

Moments passed as they fell silent, staring into the night, each to their own thoughts. Some few minutes after, Ludwig opened his mouth to speak but Francis beat him to it, erasing all previous thoughts from Ludwig's mind:

"I love you." Ludwig's only reaction was to let in a sharp breath quietly, but Francis still heard it.

"Ludwig, I know you may not believe me, but I mean it when I say it. I love you." Francis was known to be a flirtatious man, if it breathed and walked, Francis was sure to flirt with it. He threw the word "love" around just as often as his father did. Ludwig knew better than to take him seriously most of the time, but now he wasn't so sure. He looked at Francis, he had a serious, yet passionate look in his eyes. One Ludwig was unfamiliar to.

Oh. He was definitely serious. But how was he supposed to respond to this, he wasn't one to constantly deal with these kinds of situations...

"Francis. I..." Ludwig trailed off, finding the right words to respond with, in the end he only came up with:

"You know this isn't allowed." He looked away and it was clear to Francis that that would be the only response he would get. Francis sighed, grabbed his coat, stood up and started for the ladder to leave. He was about to step down when Ludwig spoke up one last time:

"However, that isn't going to change how I feel about you." He remained looking into the night, yet not looking at anything at all, but his tone of voice said everything Francis wanted to hear. Francis smiled and climbed down the ladder quietly and headed back to his father's party.


End file.
